บท 5: Searching for the Cave Exit

'These abilities will be a problem... Apart from having to worry about this creature killing me, the powers it gave me are of little use in direct combat.'

Liam pondered the situation. From what he could sense and assume, he wasn't in any immediate danger. As long as he could cultivate and satisfy the 'hunger' in his being, he had a chance of surviving what the demon had done to him. So that wasn't his biggest problem now.

His biggest problem was the Eternal Doom Island, a place where there were demons and other kinds of dangerous creatures!

He had become a Spirit Master, but his strength had changed little. Not having gained a strong offensive ability from the incubus, he would have to be careful or he would die even after his breakthrough.

'Forget it! The situation I'm in is already the best I could imagine.'

He took a step back in his thoughts, sighing as he walked through the demon's cave.

'The most important thing now is that I know where I am, find a good place to cultivate without worrying about enemies and train what little I've got. Even if it's not ideal, that should be better than nothing!'

He searched for items of value or even with the potential to help him in that cave, but found little. There were a lot of herbs, powders and seeds, but unfortunately he couldn't take much with him.

In Twin Land, there were various types of items capable of storing things in independent spaces created through complex runes.

Rune masters, one of the most acclaimed types of professionals in this world, could create items capable of displaying incredible abilities using mystical runes.

Space rings, storage bracelets, storage belts, enchanted bags, space pouches, in short, there were several items capable of containing large pockets of space to store varying amounts of resources.

The young master of the Porter family had a storage bracelet, an expensive item for ordinary people, but essential for Spirit Masters.

Unfortunately for Liam, his previous self was a servant. He had nothing of the sort with him, forcing him into the current situation of having to choose what he would take with him.

He couldn't stay there!

Who knows where he was? How close could he be to others like the demon who had invaded his body and forced a Spirit Pact on him? What would be his fate if he came across another incubus demon?

There was no way he could know any of the answers to these questions. The only thing Liam knew for sure was the next demon he met wouldn't try the same thing the incubus had done to him!

Unable to take most of those resources and keen to leave the cave, Liam took what he thought was most valuable, a book with several of the symbols present in the pentagrams and magic circles in the surrounding area.

The available resources might offer him more substantial help in the immediate future. However, once knowledge is acquired, it cannot be lost. Conversely, the continent was abundant with resources. Although Liam had limited possessions to discard, he could acquire other items if necessary to abandon these essences today.

That's if he lasted long enough to leave the island, of course!

After improvising a cloth bag from his torn shirt, he tied it around himself like a backpack before taking a torch from one of the cave walls.

Standing next to the demon's body, he felt the corpse also had its value. But after a moment, he moved on slowly, heading for the dark tunnel ahead of him.

His senses were sharper than ever. He sensed spiders walking on the ceiling of the cave tunnel, but also small worms on the ground.

As much as Twin Land creatures could become mystical beings, it took time for a being of ordinary origin, such as a spider, worm or scorpion, to grow into something powerful.

Those insects in Liam's path did not differ from those on Earth, for the time being, at least.

He just ignored them, heading towards the end of that tunnel that seemed to have no end.

Even so, he walked cautiously, choosing well where to step, avoiding the puddles of water scattered irregularly in this area.

'What kind of fucking place is this?'

He walked for almost 10 minutes and didn't feel like he was getting any closer to the exit. The further he went, the more he felt he was getting deeper into this underground area.

As he felt the smell of wet soil getting weaker, his pores eliminated sweat, trying to cool his body down. But in another three minutes, Liam would notice his breathing getting stronger and a feeling of unparalleled heat.

Just before he stopped, he saw something bright ahead in the tunnel that seemed to have no end.

His curiosity made him move forward, walking for another minute until he stopped in front of the area where the glow was coming from.

'What's that?'

His eyes widened as he came face to face with what appeared to be a natural underground sauna, where an orange liquid, glowing strongly at the bottom of a deep pool of water, gave off all the heat he was feeling.

Above the various water-filled holes in this area, however, a colorful aura, similar to the one he had seen earlier, was densely concentrated there, making it difficult to see, even overcoming the layer of water vapor.

As he felt his skin touch the 'clouds' of mana, he swallowed his saliva, realizing the real value of this place to him.

"I can't leave this cave yet!" He muttered in a determined tone, his voice confident, his tone charged with a strange will.

Cultivating mana was addictive. More importantly, cultivating mana was necessary for the physical and spiritual strengthening of any Spirit Master.

Facing this chamber of about 60 square meters, the 'natural sauna', he braved the heat of the area by taking off his torn clothes and going deeper into it.

'It's boiling. I'll meditate out of the water and see if I can get into this little lake as time goes by.'

He closed his eyes as he sat in a lotus position on a hot black stone.

He felt a much stronger effect than he had minutes ago, when he had cultivated out of desperation because of the incubus.

Without realizing it, he would enter a special state, cultivating without feeling the passage of time, in the blink of an eye, spending half a day in that place.

...

About 14 hours after waking up tied to a cross in the demon incubus' cave, Liam opened his eyes in that hot spring.

He was enjoying the opportunity to meditate. But, feeling his stomach growl loudly and repetitively, he couldn't stand it any longer before he stopped.

The incubus had ignored the bag Liam had with him when he was attacked by Day. Fortunately, there were some grains and fruit in the cave, enough for him to eat.

As he ate, he was sure that he had improved his cultivation a few times in the last few hours. But he couldn't tell what level he was at, since he only knew the names of the first two cultivation realms—Spirit Apprentice and Spirit Lord Realm.

But how these mystical realms were subdivided, he did not know. So he was in the dark about his position as Spirit Apprentice for the time being.

'I have to go back.'

He thought as he ran back along the path between the demon's cave and the site of the hot spring.

"This time, I'll go into the water and meditate here for as long as I can stand it. I'll leave this place when there's no other option in my way!"

Muttering this to himself, he stepped into the scalding water, then began to meditate.

While he was doing this, the incubus seemed to sleep, an opportunity for him to advance the level of the mana 'lake' of his being!